X-Men the Movie II
by space cadett
Summary: Since the second movie hasn't come out yet, I wrote my own version of it. Blink is one of the main characters, but I also included all of the characters from the original movie and more! Please r/r, but be gentle! This is my first real fic. :-) Above all,
1. Clarice

Clarice Ferguson was alone

OOOOOKKKKKK….. This is my first real fanfic that I'm writing by myself! Wahoo! So pleaseee review it!!! I appreciate any kind of feedback, replies, colorful constructive criticism… whatever! Really, I promise! I need that feedback! so FEED ME!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the X-Men, Marvel does. No duh. Cause you see, if I owned them, I wouldn't be writing this right now. Instead, I'd be on some Hawaiian cruise with Hugh Jackman… but I'm not, I'm sitting here and writing this, promise! There's scientific evidence for ya that I don't own any of the characters in this story. So please don't sue me! Pretty please! With a cherry-popping daddy on top??!! Umkay…

****

This is dedicated to: My best friend Blink whom I miss very much!!! TEB rocks! :-p

****

Special thanx to: all the people at the Wolvie & Jubes storyboard who inspire me every day!

Enjoy!

"This means dialogue"

/This means thought or telepathic dialogue/

~"This means whisper"~

****

Chapter 1

__

Clarice

Clarice Ferguson was alone. She had been alone for months now, although she didn't exactly know how many. She had been alone ever since that unfortunate accident with Tommy…….

No, wait. I'll start over.

Ever since Clarice turned fourteen and started going through puberty, strange things began happening to her. Not just the normal sort of changes every teenager goes through at that critical point in their life, but different sort of changes, within her as well as in her appearance. 

First, her hair started to change color slightly. It would vary from a light shade of reddish gold in some places to golden red in others to almost.…… pink in others. Finally, she decided to dye it light brown altogether to avoid standing out too much.

Her skin began to turn pale, her face seemed almost transparent and was beginning to take on a bluish shade. To top it off, strange marks of different shades of pale purple and blue began to appear on her face, mainly in the area around her eyes. First, they were there temporarily, but later on became permanent.

Her parents took her to every single dermatologist they could find to figure out what was going on with their daughter. The astonished doctors could only give them one answer—stress. Plain old teenage stress and hormones were "causing an uneven and random distribution of melanin and pigmentation throughout her body".

/Right. All of this bullsh*t and more/ Clarice thought. She knew what was _really_ going on in her body. The problem was whether her family would understand and learn to accept the fact that she was one of _them_, that she was a mutant… /There's hope/ she thought.

At around the age of sixteen she found out that there's more to her powers than just physical appearance. She had noticed the ability to teleport and misplace objects without touching them. She found this ability quite useful at first, until she discovered its true destructive nature.

…It was a dark Thursday afternoon. Clarice was just fooling around, she wasn't even angry at her silly 9-year-old brother who was running around and making enough noise to wake the dead. All she wanted to do was to finish her homework, all she wanted to do was to make him disappear at that moment. She decided to really test her capabilities to the max. 

She sat up, looked at her brother, and concentrated on teleporting him to another room. He was the heaviest object she had ever teleported in her entire life, and it took most of her energy. She fainted slightly, and after she came to her senses, she found out that she had succeeded in the teleporting….. only partially… The remaining scraps of what used to be her cheerful sibling were now lying in an artistic mess scattered around the room, a pool of blood surrounding them. She never even heard a scream… In fact, the only sound was the soft drumming of the rain against the windowsill…and the unbearable silence…

After this, it was hard to tell what was going on. She didn't remember running away, she didn't even remember the reason she ran away, all was a confusing blur in her mind—the defence mechanism of her body against the shock.

She woke up in a cold, dark, and damp sewage, where, as it turned out, she had been sleeping alongside local bums and drunkards for the past couple of days. They seemed very nice to her, and upon her awakening cheered loudly and even toasted to her health. Sounds strange?

"Lass, we thot you was dead!" a toothless bum grinned at her exposing his blackened gums.

That's how Clarice first made her aquaitance with the inhabitants of the underground city, or "Sewage City", as she preferred to call it. Most of them were bums and druggies, but they were harmless people. She did also meet several other teenage mutants who ran away from home out of fear of their powers or damage caused by them, like she did. This somewhat comforted her.

In the company of her new friends, she found out about the Brotherhood. The teenagers in Sewage City talked about it often, but none of them would ever have the courage to actually join it because, for one ting, it would mean having to go up to the surface world and expose themselves to others, and for another, most of them just _heard_ stories about it, nobody was sure that it actually _existed_…

But our young Clarice _knew_ that the Brotherhood, whether or not it existed, was her only hope, it was her only chance for survival in this world. She set out on her journey to find it. 


	2. The Journey

It had been almost four months ****

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, I am not making any profit off of this, blah, blah, blah… So please don't sue me!

****

Chapter 2

__

The Journey

It had been almost four months. Clarice was alone.

For months she had been travelling through underground cities, scavenging from one place to another, making plans, gathering supplies, and preparing for the long trip ahead of her. 

She gathered up any kind of information she could about the Brotherhood, and asked to find out more about it any time she was given a chance. If only she knew where it was located, or whom she could ask or contact to find it. Alas, if she would not find it, it would find her…

x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x

****

At Magneto's Lair

"Who is the girl?", Creed inquired

"Clarice Ferguson, age 16, a very strong teleporter, she—"

"How strong?", Mystique was interrupted.

"She has the ability to teleport massive objects as far as the moon and back safely… She does not yet know how strong her powers are, nor does she fully know how to control them, but she does know about us. She has been looking for us, Creed…"

"Then let her find us."

There was a silence.

"She is a child, Creed, she wouldn't know… Besides, Charles wants her. He is looking for her. He is very well aware of her capabilities, and will find a way to lure her safely into the X-mansion, or will have one of the X-Men do it. Magneto will need her for the project once he returns. It is your duty to retrieve her before Charles gets his hands on her."

Creed replied with a low growl, which was his sign of affirmation. 

x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x

****

At the X-Mansion

Hank and Cyclops waited patiently outside of the closed entrance to the Cerebro. Finally, after several minutes, the doors slid open and out came Professor Charles Xavier, a satisfied look on his face.

"Well, professor, any luck?", Cyclops inquired softly.

"Yes indeed," the Professor smiled, "I have located her", he announced.

A sigh of relief from the two X-Men followed.

"Scott, I want you and Jean to go collect her at the Newbay Train Station at 5:15 tomorrow morning. Make sure you be there at 5 or even earlier. Hank, you go prepare the MedLab for her arrival. I will arrange the rest."

"Yes, Professor", the obedient team leader replied.

"Will do, Charles", Hank's reply followed.

x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x

****

Back at the Underground Slum

Clarice had almost given up hope at finding this place that was supposed to be her safe haven. She had very little money and supplies left, and even less patience, strength, and hope of ever finding the damned place; since she had used up all three of them a long time ago. The only thing that kept her going was her solid endurance—the damned thing just wouldn't let her stop.

/It's hopeless,/ Clarice thought as she tucked her beat-up old backpack under her ear as a pillow and snuggled deeper into her moth-eaten wool blanket—her only tow possessions besides the clothes she was wearing and the remaining contents of the bag.

As the young mutant lay there on top of a pile of old newspapers, close to the cold wet pavement which smelled of stale gasoline and sewage—a smell she no longer minded, or, in fact, took little notice of at all—she couldn't help but think about her wonderful warm home back in Riverdale. She snuggled closer to her makeshift pillow as she remembered the cozyness of her soft blanket, the warmth of the sunlight as it hit her face in the morning, the soft velvety pink carpet… that slowly turned a shade of scarlet and then a brilliant bright crimson as the blood leaked slowly from the human flesh and soaked into the carpet. Clarice frowned questionably in her sleep, then drifted off again. She remembered the warm thick wet surface of the carpet, and the squish-squash sound it made as she walked barefooted on it, the dark thick life fluid rising through the crevices of her toes with every new step. 

She vaguely remembered stuffing some random objects into her bag quickly, putting on her coat and leaving her warm and cozy home forever…

Clarice cried in her sleep and mentally made a promise to herself never to use her powers again.

Her nightmare was followed by another dream. Somehow, the dream was a continuation of her nightmare, but it was very different. 

She was standing outside of her home with her backpack on one shoulder and her blood-stained boots on her feet, the rain beating against her bare forehead.

Suddenly, the rain stopped, the sun peeked through the clouds and a tall human figure appeared in front of her. She could not make out his face, but he seemed kind and he spoke in a mild voice to her.

"Do not be afraid, child," he said, "Just follow the voices, they will guide you to your destiny." With that, the figure disappeared, but his voice remained.

"Clarice, follow me," it said

"Over here!"

"Come this way"

Clarice followed the voices as they lead her along a path. The path first lead into dark woods, then it went underground, and finally she ended up on a light meadow which marked the end of her journey. She was tired and could go no longer, she collapsed onto her knees, a bit disappointed with the fruit of her efforts. She was about ready to give up and lie down in defeat, when the voices commanded her to look up. She did so and was surprised at what she saw. Far off in the distance there was a place which seemed strangely familiar to her, it was, in fact, the local train station…

With that, the voices disappeared and Clarice awoke, "Newbay Train Station" echoed through her mind.


	3. The Encounter

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, Marvel does ****

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, Marvel does. I don't own Hello Kitty, I don't know who does. I also don't own many other things, like green polka-dot floor boards, my own salty cheese cracker company, and the moon. I also don't own the Newbay Train Station, in fact I don't know whether it exists or not. So if it does, please don't sue me!

****

Chapter 3

__

The Encounter

Clarice woke up with a quick gasp. Tears were streaming down both her cheeks. 

"The Newbay Train Station" she said. /Is that where my future lies? Is that where I'm supposed to find a guide to my destiny?/

Clarice decided to get on her way right away. She quickly got to her knees, folded her moth-eaten once red blanket as neatly as possible and began searching around in her bag. 

From the bag, Clarice retrieved several objects, most of which she picked up along her way during the past four months. Among them were an old compass, a city map with red pen marks all over it (how she kept track of where she was, since she had been underground the whole time), and an old broken Hello Kitty watch which was missing a second dial and had to be wound up every 30 hours or so. 

Clarice quickly glanced at her watch. 3:25 AM. "Well, best get going now, before the sun rises," she said to herself.

The last thing she wanted to do was to go out into public places during daytime. The brown coloring in her hair faded out, leaving it bright pink, the purple in her skin became more solid, and to top it off, after four months of not bathing and living in the sewage, she looked more like a beast than a human.

/Luckily, this place isn't far from here,/ she thought, /otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten there until, like, 4:30./

x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x

****

At the Train Station, around 4 AM

"Why in the friggin hell did we have to get up so friggin early? The girl ain't here yet, she ain't gonna be here until five!", Toad complained to his team-mate.

Toad and Sabertooth were sitting on the roof of the main gate building of the train station, waiting for the arrival of Clarice.

"Baldy arranged for her to be here at five. That's when the X-freaks are comin' to pick 'er up. So why the hell we out here an hour early?"

Creed just growled in response to his team-mate's nagging.

"Mystique has arranged everything. The frail was up an hour earlier, and she will be here in no time."

x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x

****

X-Mansion, 3:54 AM

/Summers! Wake up!/, Xavier's voice drummed in Cyclops' head.

"Huh? What? I'm awake!", Cyclops said out loud in a sleepy voice, waking his sleeping wife beside him. 

/Get into my office right now. Bring Jean with you, this is an emergency!/

/We'll be right over, Professor,/ Scott replied, this time mentally.

x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x

****

In Xavier's office, 4:00 AM

There is a knock on the door.

"Come in, Scott, good morning Jean, close the door behind you."

"You said this was an emergency, Prof—"

"Yes, indeed, it is. I have picked up something. You and Jean must go to the train station right now, the girl is in danger."

"Professor, how?—" Jean asked impatiently.

"No time for explaining, Sabertooth and Toad are there, they somehow know about my plan and are waiting to collect her there right now. Take the Blackbird, you must get there before she does!"

"Yes, Professor," Jean and Scott said in unison as they scurried out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

Xavier was left alone in his office.

"Why are you doing this, Eric, what do you want with the poor girl?…" he thought out loud.

x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x

****

The Train Station, 4:09 AM

Clarice was standing in front of the main gate of the Newbay Train Station, a backpack on her shoulder, her left hand supporting it, the map in her right hand.

"Well, this is it," she said enthusiastically to herself. "Hope it was worth it," she followed up, only this time a bit more quieter.

/So, what am I supposed to do now?/ she thought, /Stay here and wait for a sign? Or am I supposed to buy a train ticket to hell and be on my merry way already?/

Clarice chuckled at the sarcasm in her thoughts.

~"Let's go already! What in the friggin hell are we waiting for? C'mon! She's right there!"~ Toad began to fuss

~"……Wait. I smell trouble. I suspect that they should be near by."~

~"Well then even better! Let's get 'er before they do."~

There was no reply.

~"Look, you go do the talking, and I'll take care of the X-Freaks when they come, ok? ok!"~

With that, the Toad hopped off on his merry way before Sabertooth could respond in any way. 

Sabertooth growled. He hated being ordered around by amphibians. He eyed the young girl once more before climbing down and making his approach.

Clarice searched in her bag for something to eat. She hadn't eaten in what seemed to be days, but was actually less than 24 hours. She heard no sound of Creed's approach, but when she looked up, she saw a tall large human figure in front of her. Because the street lights were behind his back, all she saw was his silhouette, and couldn't make out his face clearly.

"Hello?…" Clarice weekly muttered to the figure in front of her.

Creed didn't answer. For a moment, he took another look at her. The girl wasn't tall, about 5'6'' or so, her scrawny body covered in rags. Her cheeks were caved in from what seemed to be years of travelling and malnutrition. Her skin, a beautiful shade of violet, only emphasised the lovely bright pink in her hair. She was almost… beautiful, and Creed was _almost_ sorry for the girl in front of him, who had such despair in her lovely eyes.

"Hello… Clarice," he finally answered.

Clarice took an unsure step forward. "You… know who I—"

"You will come with us right now," was Creed's only response.

"But who—"

"You searched for the Brotherhood? You found it," Creed said impatiently, "Now come with me."

He turned around and started walking towards a far entrance of the gate, assuming her to follow. As they were walking, he heard a quiet sob coming from her direction. He turned around and saw that tears were streaming from her lovely eyes down both violet cheeks. Again, he felt _almost_ sorry for her and he _almost_ wished that there was something he could do to make her feel better.

Suddenly, Creed stopped. He looked around and let out a low quiet growl.

"Wait here," he commanded and started walking in the opposite direction, towards the main gate building. 

Clarice did as she was told and watched Creed disappear into the shadows behind the corner of the building. Several moments later she heard a powerful roar and a loud noise coming from the building. Before she could respond, she was swept up into the air and set on top of the gate. 

"Hello, girlie-girl! Waiting for someone? Sorry, but you're comin' with us today."

With that, the green man knocked her unconscious and carried her off on his shoulder towards the nearby woods, where a helicopter was waiting. He placed her carefully into the helicopter and hopped off to help Sabertooth take care of the X-Freaks.

Several minutes later, Sabertooth and Toad came back, Claire was still lying unconscious in the passenger cabin. They got in, took their seats, and the helicopter took off, soon to be near Magneto's Lair. 

****

Back at the Train Station

Jean was struggling to retrieve her husband from the blob of Toad's signature slime, which was keeping him attached to the wall. After struggling for a while, she was finally able to remove the slime from his eyes, so that he could use his powers to free himself from the rest of the slime. 

After finally getting themselves out, the two team-mates headed for the Blackbird, and Jean sent a telepathic message to Xavier.

/Professor, we've lost her… /


	4. Blink

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, and I am using them without permission ****

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, and I am using them without permission. I also don't own any money, so suing me won't do you any good. (*sticks out tongue*) Neh-neh-ne-ne-neeeeeeh!!!

****

Chapter 4

__

Blink

****

Magneto's Lair (The Brotherhood Hide-out)

"So you got her?" Mystique inquired. This was more of a statement than a question because she was looking at the unconscious girl in Sabertooth's arms when she asked. Suddenly, a look of concentration and worry began to from on Mystique's face. 

"She's not… is she?"

"Nah," Todd chuckled, "She ain't dead, she's just a bit out of it. I 'ad to knock 'er out to get 'er to come with us," he said proudly.

His smile disappeared when he saw the look on Creed's face. 

"What?" he shot out in defence.

Sabertooth growled. "It was unnecessary. She was coming with us anyway. You only frightened the frail."

There was a silence, Mystique and Toad looked at each other, then at their team-mate in disbelief. 

"I'll take her to her room," Creed finally broke the silence and walked away. Nobody stood in his way.

"So what do ya suppose's gotten inta him?" Toad asked Mystique, who just shrugged her shoulders in response.

****

A Log Cabin, somewhere in Canada, sometime later

It was late November. The first snow had just fallen several hours ago and a thick, white snow blanket covered everything in sight. 

Logan stepped out on his front porch. He was wearing navy blue boxers and a smile, a cup of steaming coffee in one hand. Removing his cigar from his mouth with the other, he took a sip of the coffee. He then lowered the cup and took a deep breath of clean crisp winter air before sticking his stoogie back in his mouth.

Peace and Quiet. How he loved being left alone for a while. No worries, no hustle, no responsibilities, nothing. Just the quiet lifestyle of a loner. He loved it, this was his home. 

Nevertheless, a long way away from his home, another home was calling him. It was the home that accepted him, helped him cope with his past and better understand his future. It was the home of his mentor Charles Xavier and his friend Rogue. It was calling him back.

During his journey through Canada, he found more questions than answers to the secret of his past, but the journey altogether wasn't useless, made him more confident about his future.

/There will be a time to go back home,/ he thought, /but this is not it, now is not the time, not yet./

He glanced at the beautiful wintry landscape in front of him one last time before going back into the cabin.

Time passed. Days flowed into weeks, weeks—into months, and so on. Xavier had already given up hope for Clarice. She was part of the Brotherhood now, and she wasn't part of it by force, she wanted to be part of it, right from the start. This made it even more difficult, if at all possible, for him to get her to switch sides.

After months of training with Sabertooth and the Brotherhood, Clarice had become Blink. She learned how to control and use her powers better, and gained confidence in using them. The only thing that she still refused to do was to use them against people or any other living creatures, and Sabertooth didn't pressure her to, since he knew and understood why she had made that decision. 

Blink also learned various forms of martial arts and combat skills, mainly from Sabertooth. He helped her the most through her training, and he was the one that helped her discover several other talents of hers: the ability to charge objects with teleporting force and the ability to open portals by temporarily diminishing self-reconstructing space between two destinations. She was, truly, one of the most powerful mutants the Brotherhood had ever seen.

During her training, as Clarice's strength and confidence grew, so did her relationship with Victor. He was like a father to her, he was her mentor and cared for her right from the very start. He was the only person that was always there for her whenever she needed him.

Creed brought out the strength in her, and in return for his favour, she brought out the human in him. She loved him and let herself be loved by him. She gave him her love, and although she thought it wasn't much, in reality, it was more than he had ever had.


	5. New Families

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men ****

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men. Nuff said. 

****

Chapter 5

__

New Families

Logan had lived through the winter alone in his log cabin. It was early March and something was telling him that it was time to go back. He packed up his few possessions and within a couple of days was on the road home.

Meanwhile, his 'lil Rogue wasn't wasting any time during the winter. She and a friend of hers, Jubilee, had both graduated early in order to start training for the X-Men. They were the two mutants selected by Xavier out of the bunch of seniors who volunteered to start their training early.

Xavier felt that they were the most qualified for the job since both of them had had combat or X-mission experiences in the past, and they were both physically and mentally prepared for the challenge. 

Training side by side brought the girls even closer together. They became best friends and pretty soon did everything else together, too.

Their first session in the danger room showed to Xavier how close they became during the past couple of months. He was truly amazed.

Most other mutants fight separately when they are in the danger room, even though they may be fighting a common enemy. This tactic usually doesn't work and later on most mutants have to go through extra training to learn to work as a team. 

Jubilee and Rogue, however, knew how to work as a team from the very beginning. They fought back to back and both of them seemed to know what the other one was thinking. They fought as one and this made them twice as strong. 

Because they didn't have to go through extra training to learn to work as a team, Xavier decided that it was time for the next level of their training—real mission practice.

****

The Brotherhood Hide-out

By the end of March, Clarice was fully trained and was already ready for her first real assignment. Even though Clarice was only 17 at the time, Mystique decided that the mission could wait no longer. 

She called for a meeting the same day Clarice came back from her first "Runt Hunt" with Vic. A "Runt Hunt" was Creed's annual (and often not so annual) stalking and/or chasing of the Wolverine. This time, however, it was unsuccessful, since Logan left to go home several days earlier. 

The meeting of the Brotherhood was a rather sad sight, since the only four members gathered at the steel table without their leader, who was still locked up in a plastic prison and kept under Xavier's control.

"The time has come," Mystique finally began, "for young Clarice to go on her first mission with the Brotherhood.

"As we all know, war is coming, and as you all know, our mentor and leader has been locked up for nearly a year and kept in the hands of our brothers who pose themselves as our enemies. It is time for us to free him.

"On our side, we have a shape-shifter, a powerful teleporter, two beyond strong mutants, and four very skilled combatants. If we use all of our resources to the max, according to my plan, we should be able to succeed."

There was a pause.

"And your plan is?" Toad finally asked.

"Secret for now. All you have to know is we strike tomorrow. Tomorrow you shall all find out about my plan. In the meantime, I can shield my mind off from Xavier using Magneto's helmet. You all can't do that. It's nothing personal, it's just a precaution against our enemies.

"Until tomorrow, I suggest that you all get a good night's sleep. This meeting is adjourned."

****

The X-Mansion

Xavier was sipping a cup of tea in his office. He heard the noise of a motorcycle engine coming from outside as his lips slowly curved into a smile.

/Jean,/ he sent a telepathic message, /go get Rogue, there is a visitor here to see her./

"Logan!" gasped Marie as she wrapped her gloved hands around his neck and shoulders and held him in an embrace. "You're back!"

"Yep, darlin', I'm back. I'm back for good."

The door opened and the Professor rode out in his wheelchair, Ororo and Jubilee behind him.

"Ah, nice to see you again, Logan."

"It's great to be back, Chuck."

"I'm sure it is. I'm convinced you'll find that a lot has changed since your departure. We have had several new additions to our team since then. I believe you've already met one of them."

Logan looked at the young woman in his embrace. Then he looked at Xavier.

"Marie?… really?!"

Rogue just nodded happily in response. 

"Oh, that's great, darlin'! Congratulations, kiddo, I'm proud of ya!" Logan said as he tightened his embrace. 

His eyes then trailed off in Xavier's direction and focused in on a slender figure standing next to Ororo. It was a young Asian girl with short black hair tied neatly into a bun, a pair of pink sunglasses holding it back. She was wearing a bright yellow raincoat, old worn out combat boots, and hoop earings, and she had the biggest, bluest, most beautiful eyes he had ever seen.

"And this," continued Xavier, "is our second addition. Logan, I'd like you to meet Jubilation Lee."

Logan softened his embrace on Rogue and stretched out his right hand to the Asian girl.

"Pleased to meet ya, Jubilation."

"Call me Jubilee. I'm pleased to meet ya too, Mr. Logan, Rogue's told me so much 'bout ya…"

"Now then, how about we all step inside for some tea in my office?" Xavier suggested.

"Lead the way, Chuck."

After all, tea, of course, is an essential component of a wolverine's diet. ;-)


	6. Celebration of Life

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men and I'm using them without permission ****

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men and I'm using them without permission.

****

Chapter 6

__

Celebration of Life

****

X-Mansion, March 21, Early Morning

/Jean, Cyclops, Wolverine, get into my office right now. Bring Ororo and the girls with you. This is an emergency!/

The mutants herded out of their rooms into the flashing red hallway and started running towards the East wing of the mansion—where Xavier's office was located.

Several minutes later they were all assembled in his office and waiting for instructions. 

"I'll get straight to the point," he began, "The Brotherhood mutants are nearby. I don't know what exactly they are up to since they are trying to shield themselves from me, but they are in full assembly and I expect that they have come for Magneto.

"They are currently approaching Grounds X. That's where Magneto's prison is located, underground.

"I want all of you to go down there and prevent them from getting inside. We outnumber them, but Mystique's plan, I'm sure can get them inside.

"Whatever it is they're planning to do, I count on you to prevent them from doing it."

"Will be done, Professor," the fearless leader assured him. 

As the X-Men were exiting the office to go on their next (or for some, first) mission, Xavier mentally called Cyclops and Wolverine to stay for a moment.

"Cyclops, watch over the girls on their first mission. Wolverine, please try not to kill anyone, I am being serious."

"Will do, Professor," replied Cyclops

"Will do, Chuck," Wolverine added.

With that, they left to catch up with the rest of the team.

****

Grounds X, several minutes later

"Ok, people, we're here, now let's not waste any time," Cyclops ordered stepping off the Blackbird. "Jean, scan the grounds to find out where the Brotherhood are."

"Mystique and Toad are inside. I can't fins Sabertooth or Clarice, but they should be somewhere nearby."

"Alright then, let's split up. Jean and Ororo, come with me, we're going inside. Wolverine, Rogue, and Jubilee, you three stay out here on guard. If Sabertooth and Clarice show up, take care of them.

"Alright now people, move it, move it! We don't have all day. Oh, and Logan?" Cyclops said, turning around, "Remember what the Professor told you," he said with a warning glare.

"I'll take care of my business, Cyke, and you take care of yours." Logan shot back. 

Within several moments, Jean, Cyclops, and Storm disappeared underground. Logan, Rogue, and Jubilee were left on guard. 

Suddenly, Logan unleashed his claws. He took another sniff of the air surrounding him and warned Jubilee and Rogue, "Be careful, girls, we are not alone. I've got Sabertooth and you take care of his kid, got it?"

Neither Jubilee nor Rogue had time to answer, since within moments, Logan was already flying in the direction opposite to where Creed was now standing. 

Vic graciously cast aside the freshly cut tree—complete with birds and all—that he was using as his weapon, and started walking towards where Logan was lying unconscious.

Rogue's first reaction was to go help her Wolverine, but she was distracted by a flash of purple and green. Within moments, she was on the ground, a heavy weight holding her down. She looked up and saw that she was lying under a fallen tree, and that Jubilee was fighting off a mutant she assumed to be Clarice.

Further off into the distance, Rogue saw Sabertooth slowly approaching a fallen, unconscious Logan. He was certainly going to kill him, she thought; she had to find a way to save her Logan.

She struggled to get out from underneath the tree that was holding her down, but it was too heavy for her. She called Jubilee for help.

Jubilee glanced in her direction momentarily and sent a plasma bubble her way. The bubble blew off the tree and freed Rogue, but it caused Jubilee to lose her concentration and supremacy over Blink in the fight.

As soon as Rogue was free, she ran to Sabertooth to help Wolvie.

Sabertooth heard her coming, but he was too concentrated on mutilating his main enemy to notice her.

She jumped on him, and, removing a glove, placed her bare hand on the back of his neck, sucking the living energy out of him.

Sabertooth roared with pain that was quickly spreading throughout his entire body. He tried to get her off of him, but she held on tight with her other hand. He fell to his knees with a large thump.

Meanwhile, Blink was about to deliver another, final blow to Jubilee, when she heard Sabertooth's roar. She turned around to see Vic fall to his knees in defeat. For a moment, she thought she heard him cal her name as he struggled to get rid of the mutant on his back.

Blink hesitated. The last thing she wanted to do was to use her powers against another person, even an enemy mutant. But that seemed to be the only way she could help Vic. 

She took another look at Rogue, desperately trying to think of any other way to stop her from hurting Creed. She was too far away to fight her, the only choice she had was to use her powers.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the image of Rogue in her mind.

Logan gained consciousness from Marie's piercing scream. He took one last look at his 'lil Rogue before a shower of her blood covered him from head to toe and her lifeless body fell to the ground.

There was a silence for what seemed to be forever. Rogue's last scream still echoed through the woods.

Logan slowly wiped the blood from his eyes and looked down in disbelief at Marie's crimson stained lifeless body. 

He felt the beastly instincts inside him slowly taking over. He unleashed his claws and felt that he was no longer in control of his own body. With a beastly roar, he charged at Blink who was too shocked to react in any way. 

Three adamentium claws penetrated the lovely pale violet skin above her bare stomach and went straight through her heart. 

Clarice let out a few lifeless gasps before Logan finally came to his senses and retracted his claws from her body. He carefully picked her up, carried her closer to Creed and laid her down on the ground next to Rogue.

Blink gathered all the strength that remained in her body and stretched out her hand to where Creed was lying unconscious. Then, she passed away.

Logan didn't remember much of what happened afterwards. He vaguely remembered the shocked looks on Cyclops' and Ororo's faces when they showed up, and the sad look in Creed's eyes when he gained consciousness and saw what happened to his 'lil Clarice.

He remembered parts of Rogue's funeral. He also remembered Creed's painful roar as he cradled Blink's fragile lifeless body in his arms.

He remembered cradling Rogue's lifeless body in the same way, and the tears rolling down Jubilee's cheeks as he did.

That was, by far, his most painful memory of all.

Time passed, and Logan learned to cope with and overcome his pain, his 'lil firecracker helped him to. 

They had shared a common loss, and this brought them closer together. He became like a father to her, and she became his 'lil Jubes. The memory of Rogue stayed with both of them forever. 

The End


End file.
